Letter box



R. SCHROCK LETTER BOX Filed March 24. 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ROY S C HROCK. v

Gbtwmru R. SCHROCK LETTER BOX Filed March 24, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 R. SCHROCK Oct. 23, 1923.

LETTER BOX Filed March 24. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 w K Q m o m W k H C S Y O M Q 5 I it... if? :x W W M Q Patented Oct. 23, 1923.

ROY SCHBOdK, OF ENID, OKLOMA.

LETTER BOX.

Application filed March 24, 1922. Serial No. 546,815.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROY SCHROCK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Enid, in the county of Garfield and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to letter boxes, and has for its object to so construct the box that its operation is greatly facilitated both by the patron and by the letter carrier in distributing and collecting the mail.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and automatically operated means for indicating the presence of mail in the box.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a support for a letter box so arranged that it may be moved to one side of the road, the purpose being to avoid in-' terference with road machinery and the like.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective viewof a .mail box mounted on its support.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the box and support, showing the normal position of the box in dotted lines and the inner position in full lines.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the letter box, showing the door swung open in dotted lines.

Figure 4 isa plan view of the letter box, the dotted lines showing the same swung upon its pivot.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the letter box and support, showing in dotted lines a second means of removing the same from the roadway.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical section through the mail box.

Figure 7 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 7-7, Figure 6, and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of one of the doors of the letter box.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, the numeral 1 designates an anchor for the mail box support. The anchor is driven into the ground beside the road and is provided with wings or flukes 2 to prevent turning. Bolted at the upper end of the anchor 1 by means of the bolts 3 and 4 is a standard 5, and pivotally mounted at the upper end of the standard 5 is a horizontal supporting arm 6. The arm 6 is adapted to be swung into either of the two horizontal positions shown in Figure 2 and is supported in the position to which it is moved by means of a brace 7 pivoted to the standard'5 and detachably connected to the arm 6. By this construction. it is obvious that the arm 6 and letter box, which normally extend to the side of the road, may be swung back into the position shown in full lines 1n Figure 2 when desired; for instance,

when read machinery or the like is at work. The box and arm may also be, swung into non-interfering position by removing the lower bolt 3, as shown in Figure 5. A step 5 is secured to the standard in order that children may gain access to-the box when necessary.

The letter box 8 is formed of sheet metal and is provided with downwardly extending flanges 9, between which is received the reinforcing member 10. Secured .to the member 10 is a bearing ring 11 which seats on the disc 12 provided on the arm 6.- A bolt. 13 pivotally connects the box 8 to the supporting arm 6.

In order to normally maintain the letter box in proper position, the same is formed with a rearwardly extending projection 40 which is engaged by an automatic latch 41. If it is desired to collect the mail deposited without going onto the road it is only necessary to release the latch 41 and swin the box into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 4. i

The box is closed by means of a main door 14 pivoted to the bottom of the box, as indicated at 15. Secured to the upper edge of the door 14 is a slotted extension 16 which receives the spring finger 17 when the door is moved to closed position. When it is desired to place large packages in the box the door 14 is used, while letters and smaller packages may be inserted through an opening 18 made in the door 14.

The opening 18 in door 14 is closed by means of an auxiliary door 19 which is ivoted between its ends by means of a .ro 20 bolted thereto. The door 14 is provided with bearings for the reception of the rod 20. Secured on the inner face of the door 14 is a semicircular member 21, while on the door 19 are formed wings 22, all of which limit the movement of the auxiliary door in an inward direction. The door 19 is provided with a perforated hasp 23 by means of which the same may be locked to the spring finger 17.

The lower ed e of the door 19 is extended upwardly, as s own at 24:, to provide a pocket for the rece tion of letters, cards and the like. (in the inner face of the door 19 directly above the pocket 24 ismounted a loop 25 which aids in holding the letters in the pocket. Spring 26 which is secured to the upper edge of pocket 24 forms a guide tor the mail matter and also clamps the same against the inner face of the door 19. Also mounted on the door 19 is a coin box 27. It is obvious that as the door is tilted any coins in the box will descend into the hand of the letter carrier it placed thereunder. Another function of the coin holder is that it spaces a corner of any letter placed in the pocket 24 from the face of the door 19, whereby the same may be readily grasped by the letter carrier.

In order to indicate the presence of mail in the box, I have provided an arm 28 pivotally mounted on the sideof the box by means of a bolt 29 extending through a bracket 30. The arm 28 is provided with a book 31 at its lower end and is also weighted so that it will normally stand in upright position. Formed on one end of the pivot rod 20 of the door 19 is a hook or V the like 32 which will engage the hook 31 on the signal arm 28 when the same is swung to non-signalling position. It will be understood that when the door 19 is moved on. its pivot for the purpose of collecting or deositing mail the arm 28 will be release and immediately assume an upright position, indicating there is mail in the box.

It will be seen from the fore oing description that l have provided a etter box which greatly facilitates the operations of collecting and depositing mail both by the letter carrier and b the patron, and also a novel means by which the box and support ma readily be removed to a position in which it will not be'damaged by road repairing apparatus and the like.

In accordance with the patent statutes, l have described what I now believe to be the best embodiment of the invention, but I do not wish to be understood thereby as limiting myself or the scope of the invention, as many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention; all such it aim to include in the scope of the appended claims.

l/Vhat ll claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. ln a letter box, a ivoted door, a hook extending from one en of the pivot ot the door, an elongated signal pivoted to a wall of the letter box, a hook on one end of the signal adapted to engage the hook on the door pivot, and a weight for swinging the signal to vertical position. l

2. A letter box, a door pivoted thereto, said door being provided with a central opening, bearings at the sides of said door, a rod rotatably mounted in said bearings, a hook formed on the end of said rod, an auxiliary door secured to the rod intermediate its ends, and a pivoted signal having a portion thereof adapted to be engaged by the hook on said rod.

3. In a letter box, a door having a pocket formed by doubling on itself a portion of the material of the lower part of the door, a loop secured to the door above said pocket. and a spring finger secured to a wall of said pocket and extending upwardly through said loop.

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